III. Incident Reports

A. How Incident Reports May be Generated

Students, as members of the community, have the right to address issues that may be incongruent with university policies, rules and regulations. Employees of the university have the responsibility to support the policies, rules and regulations of PLU. Therefore, when a student’s conduct appears to be in violation of university policies, rules or regulations, any student, staff, or faculty member may submit an Incident Report.

A written description of the observed misconduct should be submitted electronically (http://www.plu.edu/conduct) to the Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities (Anderson University Center, Room 161) within 72-hours of the incident (excluding weekends and holidays or extenuating circumstances). Incident Reports submitted after this timeframe will be assessed by the Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities, who will determine in his/her sole discretion whether the Incident Report can and should be reviewed and proceedings begun.

The Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities reviews the Incident Report, investigates ambiguities when they exist, and determines the type of Review Meeting most appropriate to the situation. This determination is usually based upon, but not limited to, the nature of the incident, the student’s prior Student Rights and Responsibilities history, and any existing sanctions against the student.

The Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities schedules the Incident Report for review by the appropriate Review Board or Review Officer(s).

The Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities informs the person(s) involved that her/his name appears on an Incident Report. This is accomplished by sending a copy of the Incident Report and Review Meeting Notification through PLU email. Students are responsible for checking their PLU email address on a regular basis as it is a formal means of communication from the University.

C. Student Acceptance of Responsibility

Students referred to the Student Rights and Responsibilities System have the option to accept responsibility for certain policy violation(s) if the following two conditions are met:

The student has not previously been found responsible for violating the policy indicated.

The Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities decides that self-acceptance of responsibility is appropriate.

When appropriate, students will receive notice of the option to accept responsibility instead of Notification of a Review Meeting. The student must respond to the Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities electronically within the timeframe set out in the notice, typically 3 business days, to select which of the following two options s/he wishes to:

Accept responsibility and meet with a Review Officer or a Conduct Body to assign sanctions; or

Request a Review Meeting with a Review Officer or Conduct Body.

If the student chooses Option 1, a meeting to determine sanctions will be scheduled with the appropriate Review Officer or Conduct Body. If the student believes the sanctions are not appropriate for the situation, the student may elect to have a Review Meeting with a new conduct body or Review Officer(s).

If the student chooses Option 2, the Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities will assign the incident for review with an appropriate Review Officer or Conduct Body.

If the student does not respond by the given deadline, the Associate Director for Student Rights and Responsibilities will assign the incident for review with an appropriate Review Officer or Conduct Body.